ing, and he in no instance attempted to injure them. Mr Cross, the present keeper of Exeter 'Change, and who formerly had the care of the animals in the Tower, informed me that he could himself have ventured in safety into the den. The ship-carpenter, who came over with the tiger, came to the Tower to see him. The animal, though they had been separated more than two years, instantly recognized a former acquaintance, rubbed himself backward and forward against the grating of his den, and appeared highly delighted. Notwithstanding the urgent request that he would not expose himself to so much danger, the man begged to be let into the den, and with so much entreaty, that he was at last suffered to enter. The emotions of the animal seemed roused in the most grateful manner. He rubbed himself against him, licked his hands, fawned upon him like a cat, and in no respect attempted to injure him. The man remained there two or three hours; and he at last began to fancy there would be some difficulty in getting out alone. Such was the affection of the animal towards his former friend, and so close did he keep to his person, as to render his escape by no means so easy as he had expected. With some care, however, he got the tiger beyond the partition of the two dens, and the keeper, watching his opportunity, closed the slide, and separated them."

Among many instances which we could adduce, where individuals have fallen victims to these animals, we may mention that related by Dr Shaw, where the son of Sir Hector Monro was, in 1792, attacked by a tiger, accompanied by a tigress, in such a manner as caused his death within twenty-four hours. This animal lies in ambush for his prey, and not unfrequently destroys his own young. Sometimes he forms his ambush on the borders of rivers and streams, where other animals are compelled to repair, by the heat of the climate, for their drink; but his velocity in running is so great, that few creatures escape inevitable destruction.

These animals are peculiar to Asia. They are generally natives of Bengal, the kingdoms of Siam, Tonquin, Sumatra, and China, also the countries north of China, the Indus, and those of Southern Asia. Buffon says they are also found in Southern Africa; but Mr Pennant observes, that he could find no authority for his assertion, inasmuch as the animals called tigers by Ludolphus and Kolben were only the leopard or panther. The same gentleman also observes, that this animal is, by an improper misnomer, given to Africa and America. The natives of Sumatra are so infatuated with the belief that they are animated by the souls of their ancestors, that they seldom destroy them.

WHICH is sometimes called the American tiger, is one of the most formidable animals of the New World. He is to be found in the southern division of America, from Paraguay to Guiana; but he does not appear to inhabit to the northward of the Isthmus of Darien. Even in the south the race is gradually growing more rare, in consequence of the double temptation to `destroy him, which is offered by the desire of getting rid of a beast so destructive to the flocks, and by the high price which is obtained for his skin.

More robust and more clumsy than the leopard, he is also much superior in size, as he often measures four or five feet from the nose to the root of the tail. His head is larger and rounder than the leopard's, his limbs are shorter, and his tail is of such a length as only to allow the tip to trail on the ground when the animal stands erect. Above the line of the eyes, the profile is also more prominent.

"These differences of form," says Mr Bennett, "are accompanied by differences in color and markings equally decisive. The general appearance is, at the first glance, the same in both; but the open roses of the leopard are scarcely more than half the size of those of the jaguar, and they all enclose a space of one uniform color, in which, unless in some rare and accidental instances, no central spots exist, while, in the latter animal, most of those which are arranged along the upper surface near the middle line of the back, are distinguished by one or two small black spots enclosed within their circuit. The middle line itself is occupied in the leopard by open roses, intermixed with a few black spots of small size and roundish form; that of

the jaguar, on the contrary, is marked by one or two regular longitudinal lines of broad, elongated deep black patches, sometimes extending several inches in length, and occasionally forming an almost continuous band from between the shoulders to the tail. The black rings towards the tip of the latter are also more completely circular than in the leopard."

The jaguar is a solitary animal, residing in forests, especially near large rivers. He is an excellent swimmer. D'Azara tells us, partly from personal observation, that, after a jaguar had destroyed a horse, he dragged the body sixty paces, and then swam with it over a broad and deep river. He is equally expert at climbing. "I have seen," says M. Sonini, "in the forests of Guiana, the prints left by the claws of the jaguar on the smooth bark of a tree from forty to fifty feet in height, measuring about a foot and a half in circumference, and clothed with branches near its summit alone. It was easy to follow, with the eye, the efforts which the animal had made to reach the branches: although his talons had been thrust deeply into the body of the tree, he had met with several slips, but he had always recovered his ground, and, attracted no doubt by some favorite object of prey, had at length succeeded in gaining the very top."

The jaguar lies in ambush for his prey, on which he pounces suddenly, and his great muscular strength enables him instantly to bear it to the ground. Man he does not often attack, and never but by stealth. While M. Sonini was travelling in Guiana, his party was closely dogged for three nights by one of these animals, which eluded all their attempts to shoot it, and would, doubtless, have carried off any individual who might have unguardedly exposed himself.

Ferocious as he is in his wild state, the jaguar, when captive, becomes tame and even mild, and is particularly fond of licking the hands of those with whom he is familiar.

The taking of the jaguar forms a portion of the warlike features distinguishing the Indians of South America, particularly the Llaneros, or men of the plains. One inducement a Llanero has in pursuing the jaguar, is the honor of the feat-for the value of its skin and the little depredations it commits on the flocks, would never, I apprehend, (says a late traveller in South America,) induce him to risk a single combat with such fierce animals; but there is a stronger stimulus, viz. that killing seven jaguars, or six tigers, will give him the title of guapo, or warrior, and the privilege of choosing the fattest virgin in the tribe, for his companion; for with them, the lady who is most en bon point, is most beautiful. This alone is a sufficient inducement; and they endeavor to complete their task as early as the age of seventeen. At the approach of the breeding season, they watch with great assiduity the battles that take place between the male and the female, as this is a sure indication of her littering, not wishing to have the male know where she deposits the cubs, as some naturalists assert that he eats them; others, that he hugs them to death. However this be, she

never suffers him to approach the jungle, if I may be allowed to call it so, until they are able to run after her. During this period, he awaits her with the most tender solicitude, and even brings her a portion of his prey. He is seen hovering instinctively about the place where she is crouched at noontide, When the Llanero perceives this, he envelopes himself in a jaguar's skin, and approaches him, taking good care to have the wind in his favor, as the jaguar's keen scent would soon discover the imposition. Even this sagacity and instinct they think they have got over, by burning plaintain leaves so as to take away for hours any scent which the human body has; though this is probably a mere fancy. As soon as the Llanero perceives the jaguar, he runs from him on all fours, and endeavors to mimic the whining cry of the beast, which by some is said to be like a cat, or like hogs crouching in a sty; the latter is what I would compare them to, as I have seen them mustering by night previous to hunting. As soon as the male perceives him, he bounds towards him; when the Llanero dexterously throws the noose (the lasso) over him, and soon strangles him. Sometimes he wounds him with his lance, and then a sanguinary conflict takes place. As the Llanero has his left arm well bound round with tanned horse skin, impervious to the jaguar's tusks, he presents his left hand; as soon as the jaguar seizes it, he is stabbed with a long knife, which seldom misses the heart, as the principal excellence of a guapo, is killing the beast with as few stabs as possible. As soon as he dispatches the male, the female becomes an easy prey. Sometimes the Llaneros, when their numbers are complete, will, to show their dexterity and address, decoy the jaguar into a defile, when the man uncovers and shows himself; the jaguar endeavors to retreat, but is prevented by other Indians, who scare him with firebrands, for they can produce fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together, as quick as with tinder. In this manner they worry him with dogs, while they keep him at bay until the women arrive to witness their cruelty. As the jaguar gets frantic, he endeavors to bite at every thing near him; as often as the creature opens his mouth, he is sure to have a burning torch rammed into his throat, until madness exhausts him, and he is no longer able to close his jaws; then the women and boys descend from their high positions, chop off his paws, hammer out his teeth, and often skin him alive, while the boys are smeared with the blood, in order to make them good warriors, and the mothers take delight in seeing the animosity they have to the creature, even when no longer able to do any injury. As to the female jaguar, they have only to come near her crouching place to provoke a quarrel, as she will often attack them before they are within two hundred yards of it: in her they sometimes find a more formidable enemy than in the male, although much inferior in point of size and strength, but more subtle and crafty; their bite is difficult to heal, and the Llanero think a wound from a jaguar a great disgrace; so much so, that a young aspirant for the title of guapo, who had the misfortune of being wounded in a ren

contre, was so much ashamed of acknowledging.it, that he suffered a mortification sooner than expose the wound, although he was well aware the women possessed a salve that would cure him.

THE BLACK TIGER.1

THIS animal is a native of South America, and is generally considered as a very ferocious and destructive beast. It is about the size of a heifer of a year old, and is entirely of a deep brownish black color on the upper parts, and of a pale gray, or whitish hue underneath; the upper lip and paws are also whitish, but the tail is of the same dusky appearance as the body.

RESEMBLES the tiger in its habits, and the leopard in its skin. Like the tiger, it has an insatiable thirst of blood, and an untamable ferocity; like the leopard, its skin is spotted, but is less beautiful than the skin of that animal. It seems, in truth, only a large variety of the leopard. The panther is usually more than six feet long, independent of the tail, which is about three feet in length. In Africa, one was killed by Major Denham, which was more than eight feet in length. His hair is short, sleek, and mossy, and his color is, in general, of a bright tawny yellow, elegantly marked with black spots, disposed in circles of four or five each, with a single spot in the centre: his chest and belly are white. He has short and pointed ears, fierce and restless eyes, a strong, harsh cry, and a savage aspect. So rapid are his movements that few animals can escape him, and such is his agility, that he climbs trees in pursuit of his prey, and is sure of seizing his victim. The flesh of animals is said to be his favorite food, but when pressed by hunger he makes his attacks without discrimination.

In the time of the Romans, panthers appear to have been very numerous, and at present the species is said to extend from Barbary to the remotest parts of Guinea.

1 Felis nigra, a variety of the preceding.

2 Felis pardus, LIN.